


brother mine (I love you so)

by maledictus



Category: Digimon Frontier
Genre: Brotherly Bonding, Brotherly Love, But I regret nothing, Multi, This could get creepy, only if you heavily imply it, possible incest? idk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-20
Updated: 2014-11-20
Packaged: 2018-02-26 09:04:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2646146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maledictus/pseuds/maledictus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Oh, brother mine, I love you so."</p>
<p>"Brother mine, I know, I know."</p>
            </blockquote>





	brother mine (I love you so)

**Author's Note:**

> This dug into my brain and wouldn't leave me alone for a whole week. I haven't written anything off of tumblr in a really long time, so please be nice.

"There’s no other love like the love for a brother. There's no other love like the love from a brother."  
-Terri Guillemets

* * *

"-I wanted to meet you." 

And Kouji cried like he'd never cried in his life. The brother he'd barely met was crying, too.

The hospital insisted on keeping Kouichi for several days following his encounter with the stairs; his brush with death, as well as his miraculous recovery, warranted further investigation, they said. For Kouichi, it was a time of well-deserved rest, and he slept most of the hours away, so deeply unconscious that dreams could not reach him. For Kouji, it was a time to sit beside his safely-sleeping twin and to reflect on his life and how different it could have been, and would be, with his brother in it. Of course, Kimura-san was phoned within hours of her son's accident, and when she came to his bedside, tears in her eyes and the deep lines of fatigue and stress etched across her face, her forgotten son made himself scarce, not wanting to cause the poor woman any further emotional pain. Kouji watched her kiss her sleeping son's brow and wistfully wondered if, and how, he could be a part of her life in the future. 

Inevitably, Kimura-san was called back to work, and when she reluctantly left Kouichi behind, his brother reappeared, filling the space between his brother's fingers where their mother's had been, as if imagining they were still there. It was their first real contact, and Kouji marveled at it - Kouichi's fingers were thin, and his skin was softer than Kouji's but for the rough pads of his thumb and forefinger, evidence of repeatedly stretching and scraping against the rough fabric of his mother's bandages. Even this meager contact between himself and his brother lit something in Kouji that he didn't know existed, and he wondered bleakly if and how he could live without it now that he knew of its wonder.

When it was clear that Kouichi had - miraculously - suffered no long-term damage from his incident, he began the lengthy process of being discharged. He answered the staff's questions mildly and politely -- 'yes' here, 'no' there, touching his nose, wiggling his toes, and patiently performing other tedious tests to prove his mental capacity had been restored. (' _That_ used to be _Duskmon_ ,' Takuya reminded Kouji. Kouji would have hit him if Izumi hadn't done it first.) Thoroughly baffled but relieved, the doctors released their young patient into the tearful embrace of his mother; the pair quickly left for home, leaving Kouji feeling forgotten and bitter. Was this how he would have to spend life with his twin brother? Knowing of his existence and being unable to spend time with him? Was this how Kouichi felt, what drove him to the darkness? Kouji would have reverted back into his old 'lone wolf' self if not for the buzzing in his pocket indicating a message on his phone:

<< TEXT: ᴍᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴡᴏʀᴋs ʟᴀᴛᴇ ᴛᴏɴɪɢʜᴛ. ᴄᴀɴ ᴡᴇ ᴍᴇᴇᴛ sᴏᴍᴇᴡʜᴇʀᴇ? ᴡᴇ ɴᴇᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴛᴀʟᴋ. >>

Hope and worry surged through him simultaneously; that they needed to talk went without saying, but what exactly did Kouichi want to say? Would it be the end of their new and fragile relationship? He hastily shot off an 'of course' before wishing the other chosen children well and sprinting home to change and explain himself to his father.

* * *

They agree to meet at the place where everything began -- Shibuya Station. When Kouji arrives, he sees his reflection - no, his brother - standing in the same spot where he fell, gazing thoughtfully at the sidewalk; with his furrowed brows and his lower lip worried between his teeth, he appears to be in deep contemplation. Upon hesitant inquiry, Kouichi looks up at his pensive twin and beams cheerily.

"I'm glad it happened," he says. "I never would have met you if it hadn't."

Relief surges through Kouji; it's as though Kouichi has just lifted the world off of his shoulders, and maybe he has.

They decide to move on from Shibuya Station, and walk together, in relative silence, in the general direction of the Kimura residence. Their footsteps subconsciously sync up, and before either twin can mention it to the other, they're walking in perfect unison, as though they've done it their whole lives. It feels comfortable, too comfortable to ignore, and within moments of it happening, the elder twin is laughing, high and bright and relieved, and Kouji has to remind him to go easy on himself. ("The doctors said you could have a stroke, you idiot." Even if he stammers a bit, he says it fondly, but leaves no room for argument.) They fall back into their pattern of silence and synchronized steps, only now, each twin has a secret smile on his face. The reality of their connection is settling over them like a warm blanket - this is not a dream, no; what happened to them in the Digital World was real, and they're really walking side-by-side, each looking to start a life that includes the other in it - and that is the best feeling Kouichi has felt in a long time. 

The evening wind is chilly, and Kouichi steps closer to his barely-taller brother for some semblance of shelter. Kouji plays it cool, keeps his eyes fixed straight ahead as though he hasn't noticed, but his fingers itch to hold his brother's hand. _It was better when he was unconscious_ , he thinks to himself, hoping he doesn't look as emotional as he feels. Unbeknownst to him, Kouichi remembers the feeling of Kouji's fingers between his on the starchy hospital sheets, and he, too, aches to feel that connection again; it takes all of his considerable willpower to keep from taking Kouji's hand then and there, and instead, he crams his hands in his pockets and quickens his pace towards home, knowing Kouji's feet will follow suit. 

* * *

The door to the Kimura residence swings shut behind them, and before Kouji can even toe off his shoes, Kouichi is reaching out for him, and he can't help but meet him halfway; their hands touch - a spark - then, after a pause no longer than a few milliseconds, the rest of them follow suit, shoulders and chests and foreheads colliding in a desperate full-body embrace. If holding hands with his sleeping brother lit a candle in him, then embracing him - really, truly, holding onto him, with all of his strength - set Kouji on fire. This isn't how he imagined his first  _real_  contact with his brother would be, but he's not objecting, and he holds fast to Kouichi as if afraid he will float away. He's surprised, embarrassed even, at how quickly his shields came down, but he knows that even the virtual shade of Kouichi had brought him out of his shell with ease; he is his brother, and they are alone, and they are together - there is no need for shields anymore. 

The elder twin, though cowed at how quickly he's exchanged civilized conversation for physical contact, clutches at his brother's back and struggles to breathe against the coming onslaught of tears; his throat is clenching shut in spasms and he has to swallow hard to keep from dissolving into sobs. Oh, **this** is what he's been waiting for; **this** is what all those nights of worry and days of hiding have led up to, and it is every bit the reunion he'd hoped for. All the pains of a lifetime coalesce into  _unbridled joy_  at this simple act of holding tight to his twin brother. Euphoria crashes over him in waves - it's as if part of him has been reborn; like the phoenix, he had grown old and died long ago, and his trials in the Digital World were the flames of rebirth that led up to this one moment of bliss. 

They are glued achingly-close to each other for what feels like hours; in the end, they are only driven apart by the pain of one twin's chin in the other's collarbone.  Then, with precision and care tantamount to newlywed lovers, they _investigate_. Their adventure had introduced them to each other, but now, they are _getting to know_ one another: Kouji remembers everything from that time, from the crackling yet soothing sound of his brother's oddly-familiar voice to the way his twin's digitized hand felt in his own (staticy, like touching an old television screen). But for Kouichi, the memories come in fits and bursts, like the thoughts of one who had fallen asleep during a movie and woken at increments, thoroughly confused; he can barely remember how it felt to have his digital brother beside him, and now, as he folds himself close to Kouji and rests his nose just above his brother's pulse, the thought that he gets to recreate those fractured memories _for real_ hits him hard. The base of his skull holds Kouji's scent agonizingly well, and as he presses his nose to his brother's pulse, Kouichi finds that his scent is surprisingly like his own; in fact, most everything about Kouji is a mirror of himself. It would be eerie were it not proof beyond words that what his grandmother told him was true. And then, he's crying in earnest, and he feels Kouji wrap him up in a tremulous embrace, and in that moment, he wouldn't care if his twin smothered him to death.

Kouji's arms are around him, his face in his hair, knees knocking against Kouichi's as they lie on the haphazard mat Kouichi had left behind in his haste days before. He doesn't know how Kouji feels, but the elder twin has a feeling of profound peace and completeness. In that moment, however, the younger feels exactly the same, as though a void that had once eaten him alive has been satiated. He knows that he is a part of his brother's life, and Kouichi is a part of his; he doesn't have to fret about anything coming between them - hell, he doesn't even have to worry about _their parents_ tearing them apart. Even if they tried, he knows that Kouichi would keep coming back, like a bad cold he would never want to go away. 

"Oh, brother mine," he whispers to the prone figure of his elder brother, "I love you so." 

"Brother mine," comes the sleep-softened reply, "I know, I know."

**Author's Note:**

> If you think there's subtext, there probably is. I regret nothing.


End file.
